Charlatan: Noun – A person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud; Origin – early 17th century French "ciarlatano" (itinerant seller of supposed remedies)

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor. 1:18-25).

For many Christians, the suggestion that Christ was a fraud merits no personal consideration beyond that given to the gospel at the point of our commitment to Christ. Our faith openly admits that we are motivated by things "hoped for," and believe in "things not seen" based on available evidence (Heb. 11:6). If we actively share our faith, however, it will be challenged. Sooner or later, in the course of carrying out our great commission, we will come across those who have either already rejected Christ or have it under consideration. Many do not know why they are so hostile to our Savior, but some do. Those who have given very little thought to the historical depth and validity of Christianity might contend that Jesus never existed, that He was merely a legend or myth to be included with any number of creative pagan fairytales.

Skeptics who dig deeper, though, come quickly to the realization that denying His existence is untenable. Christ cannot be honestly dismissed in this way. The committed skeptic must adopt a different approach. He may simply shrug his shoulders and fall back on the absence of current incontrovertible proof (as they define it). A more popular approach, it seems, is the assertion that Jesus was simply a fraud – that His fantastic claims were neither unique nor original, certainly not proven, and perhaps not even made by Him, but fabricated instead by fanatical followers after His death.

I mentioned earlier the prospect of being confronted by those who are considering rejecting Christ. These may be casual contacts that we make in the course of moving through our days and openly expressing our affection for Jesus, but there are examples of this that likely hit closer to home. Every so often, we hear of a young person raised in a Christian home who, having left home for college or career, is exposed for the first time to arguments that unsettle his faith. Those who consider themselves academics or enlightened seem drawn to the assertion that the Biblical account of the origin, life, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus is little more than another in a long series of "savior stories" that mankind historically enjoys.

One of the most frequently used arguments against our faith (by those who accept that Jesus lived) is that numerous stories pre-date the Bible account of Christ which bear various similarities to our Savior. It may be disconcerting for Christians to learn for the first time that there were stories told of a sort of savior in a variety of different cultures which contain similar components, but there are plentiful and perfectly reasonable explanations for how and why this might have happened – it need not intimidate us or shake our faith.

These stories would include that of Dionysus and/or Prometheus from Greek mythology, Osirus from Egypt, Krishna from Hinduism, the sayings of Confucius and even the life of Buddha. For the sake of space, I'll not delve into the specifics here, but skeptics have made much of what they consider to be striking and significant fundamental parallels between the Bible account of the life of Christ and stories from mythology or other religions "older" than Christianity. Before jumping to the conclusion that these must prove that Christ is a fraud, it seems there are some questions an open mind would ask.

Question 1: Why have so many religions, cultures, and civilizations produced stories which include some kind of savior?

While the skeptic holds this to be indicative of a marriage between the relative ignorance and amazing imagination of ancient man, could it be that it is instead simply evidence of something that man has always instinctively known? God makes no secret of the fact that He built into mankind a curiosity regarding what lies beyond this life – a desire both to live beyond and to seek the beyond (Eccl 3:11).

Question 2: Is it more reasonable to assert that civilizations which knew little or nothing of each other produced these accounts as simple expressions of a universal ignorance and imagination, or that such stories reflecting a desire to be reconciled to a higher power indicate instead an inherent need, on man's part, to know and be in fellowship with his Creator?

Question 3: If the ideas of sin and sacrifice are as old as the Bible claims, would not we expect to see the theme of man's need for salvation in the literature of various civilizations, cultures, and religions throughout history?

Question 4: Is it possible that the Hebrews exerted some cultural and or literary influence on the nations around them, or that God's interaction with His people was noted by others in a way that brought the issue of redemption into their collective consciousness?

Question 5: When truth is pursued in the setting of a courtroom, it is fairly common that fabricated and false accounts of the truth contain elements of striking similarity to the whole and perfect truth. Should we find it so strange that throughout history man's desire for fellowship with his Creator would produce stories of sin, sacrifice, saviors, and salvation which bear some degree of similarity to the truth?

Ultimately, the question of the veracity of the claims of Christ is not answered simply by dealing with the accusations of the skeptic or any other sort of opponent. These questions are offered for the benefit of the honest heart and open mind which searches for answers to the contentions of the accuser.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed (1 Pet. 3:15-17).

The cross is the only sufficient answer to any question regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. The love of Christ is proven on the cross. The claims of Christ are proven by the resurrection. For the honest heart, the question of the identity and character of Jesus are completely and finally resolved only in the cross.

Daniel Starr, Plainfield, IN; starrzan@msn.com. Daniel has been working with the church of Christ in Plainfield, IN since October of 2013. He has been preaching full time since 2008, and has been with the Church of Christ on Dibble Road in Aiken, SC, as well as the North church of Christ in Fort Wayne, IN. Prior to his work as a gospel preacher he worked for several years as a process engineer for RCA in Marion, IN, and an engineering technician for Schneider Electric in Huntington, IN. He is married to Kristy, and they have two children, Miryam, 4, and Clara, 2.